In certain crop conditions and instances, the cleaner on a cotton stripper machine can become plugged. This can happen for many reasons including an overfilled accumulator/basket that blocks the cleaner exit, wet cotton conditions, green cotton conditions, uneven flow of cotton into the cleaner that creates lumps/slugs of cotton that wedge between grid bars and saw drum, foreign objects (wood, rocks, etc.) lodged in the cleaner, flow of cotton material into the cleaner is too great, etc. When a cotton stripper machine becomes plugged, either one or more of the saw drums is unable to rotate, due to cotton becoming wedged between the saw drums and the grid bars. In the event of a cleaner plug, the machine must be shut down to dislodge or clear the plug. While the machine is shut down, the saw drums must be manually turned in reverse of the operational direction to try to work out the cotton plug. A wrench or tool is typically required to manually turn the saw drums. Depending on the severity of the plug, it can take 30 minutes or longer to unplug the cleaner, resulting in a loss of time and productivity. Unplugging a cleaner can be performed by one person, but it is easiest with two or more people.
It would be desirable to have an easier and faster way to clear cotton and/or foreign objects that become wedged between the saw drums and the grid bars.